When built in 1846, this home at 49 Oak Hill Road in Southborough was the farmhouse of an apple orchard. What is now the family room was an apple storage shed, and an outbuilding now used to store swimming-pool equipment once housed an apple press. Apple trees still dot the two-and-a-half-acre grounds, which back onto more than 100 acres of conservation land, as well as a bird sanctuary.

"I love the yard all year," says homeowner Jeanne Poulin. She said her family enjoys access to trails in the adjacent town forest and conservation area held by the Sudbury Valley Trustees, which enables them to snowshoe and cross-country ski in the winter, and is a delight for their Labrador retriever in any season.

"What drew me was the Currier & Ives feel," she said, likening the antique home and grounds in the Fayville neighborhood to a "gentleman farmer's country estate, without the crops."

She and her husband, Peter, parents of four, have lived here 10 years. Her memories of the house, with its three wood-burning fireplaces, include "big crackling fires in winter with cider and wine," she said.

While the home fronts busy Oak Hill Road, the park-like setting, with broad lawns and a 40-by-20-foot pool with patio, has a peaceful feel, she said. "We hear a lot of birds, and get a lot of wildlife - deer and turkeys." She works out of an office in the barn. "It's a short commute," she said, with a smile, "but no snow days, unfortunately."

A pergola at the kitchen entrance is hung with wisteria, which last week had bloomed in a riot of purple flowers. Inside, the bright kitchen with solid cherry countertops has its original pine floor, at a bit of an angle after more than a century and a half, and original chestnut beams. The large eating area has six windows. The walk-in pantry is huge.

A "good morning" staircase at the side of the kitchen, which leads to two bedrooms upstairs, is one of three "funky" staircases in the home, Poulin said. Another is a private staircase for a daughter's room, while the main staircase is in the foyer.

The house has eight doors, with antique glass doorknobs throughout. One antique wooden door, in the in-home office, opens to the flagstone patio under the pergola. Off the kitchen is a heated three-season porch with vaulted ceiling, terracotta floor and antique wavy glass in the windows - the place to sit with a drink and watch the kids play soccer in the yard, Poulin said.

"I love the charm, the 'ramblingness' of the house, with all its quirks," she said.

A den off the kitchen originally was built as a dining room, which accounts for the built-in china cabinets. A 21-pane French door leads to a large formal dining room, with its own built-ins and dental molding. Windows in the formal areas have the original wavy glass. A family room with fireplace and two skylights has access to a hot tub, which is negotiable for inclusion in the sale.

Page 2 of 2 - Upstairs, three of the bedrooms have new carpeting and paint. In the master bedroom, a pocket French door opens to a dressing room with windows. The walk-in closet features custom built-ins. The master bath, with ceramic tile flooring, granite countertop on the vanity and a glass-enclosed tile shower, has been completely redone.

The highlight of the second floor: A mahogany deck off the master bedroom offers "a spectacular bird's-eye view of the grounds" and, in season, Mount Wachusett and downtown Southborough, said listing agent Gail DuBois.

"I would call it breathtaking," DuBois said. "This is a one-of-a-kind property, in a unique setting."

An open house takes place from 2 to 4 p.m. on Sunday, June 2. To arrange a showing, contact Gail DuBois, Keller Williams Realty, 508-561-7481.